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After back-to-back BMW victories: Four BMW M6 GT3s in action at the 2017 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Tue Jul 25 15:14:27 CEST 2017 Press Release

he BMW M6 GT3 is ready for the next major challenge of the 2017 motorsport season: This weekend, the Ardennes region of Belgium provides the setting for the iconic 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) for the 69th time. BMW has always enjoyed a close association with the event, which was first held in 1924. To date, the Bavarian manufacturer has no fewer than 23 overall victories to its name.

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Munich. The BMW M6 GT3 is ready for the next major challenge
of the 2017 motorsport season: This weekend, the Ardennes region of
Belgium provides the setting for the iconic 24 Hours of
Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) for the 69th time. BMW has always
enjoyed a close association with the event, which was first held in
1924. To date, the Bavarian manufacturer has no fewer than 23
overall victories to its name, making BMW by far the most successful
brand in the history of this race. In each of the past two years,
the winning car has been a BMW.

In 2015, the BMW Z4 GT3 was first across the finish line on its last
big outing. One year later, its successor, the BMW M6 GT3, triumphed
on its debut at this endurance classic. After 531 laps of racing, it
was Maxime Martin (BEL), Philipp Eng (AUT) and Alexander Sims (GBR)
who emerged victorious for ROWE Racing at the “Circuit de
Spa-Francorchamps”. True to the motto “never change a winning team”,
last year’s three winners will be reunited at the wheel of the number
99 BMW M6 GT3 again at this season’s 24-hour race.

The number 98 ROWE car also features a trio of big names, with two
DTM stars and a Spa winner: Bruno Spengler (CAN) returns to the
7.004-kilometre circuit in Belgium for the first time since 2015, when
he was part of a very special motorsport project. The 2012 DTM
champion shared the cockpit of a specially modified BMW Z4 GT3 with
BMW Brand Ambassador Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) and Timo Glock (GER).
This is Spengler’s third 24-hour race of the year, having driven John
Baldessari’s (USA) BMW M6 GTLM Art Car in Daytona (USA) and a BMW M6
GT3 at the Nürburgring (GER). He will be joined by DTM colleague Tom
Blomqvist (GBR), who came home fourth and narrowly missed out on a
podium finish with BMW Team Schnitzer when the team made its 24-hour
comeback at the “Green Hell” in May. The Englishman is making his
debut at the marathon in the Ardennes. The trio is completed by Nick
Catsburg (NED), who triumphed at Spa-Francorchamps in 2015 alongside
Markus Palttala (FIN) and Lucas Luhr (GER) in a BMW Z4 GT3.

Another driver making his first appearance, at what is probably the
biggest GT race in the world, is BMW Motorsport Junior Nico Menzel
(GER). He will alternate at the wheel of the #35 Walkenhorst
Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 with Palttala, Christian Krognes (NOR) and
Matias Henkola (FIN). The second Walkenhorst car will be driven by
Henry Walkenhorst (GER), Stef van Campenhoudt (BEL), David Schiwietz
(GER) and Werner Hamprecht (GER).

In total, 66 racing cars will line up on the grid at this year’s 24
Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 29th/30th July.
The BMW drivers will exit the pit lane for free practice at 11:50 on
Thursday. That is followed on Thursday evening by the first highlight
- the two-hour night qualifying. The top grid positions will be
decided between 19:30 and 20:00 on Friday, when the fastest 20 cars
from the qualifying sessions contest the Super Pole competition. The
race is scheduled to start at 16:30 on Saturday. Twenty four hours
later, the winners will cross the finish line at the end of the
69th edition of the endurance classic.

Quotes ahead of 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps:

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “In
addition to the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps is
one of THE highlights on the endurance calendar. The races in the
Ardennes are always full of drama and are definitely not for the faint
of heart as was the case in the previous two years, when BMW teams
triumphed both times. We are optimistic that our drivers will be up
there fighting for the top spots once again this year. We’ll see
whether they will be able to do enough to get the third win in a row.
It’s impossible to predict in a 24-hour race. We are looking forward
to a thrilling event, that will no doubt be another celebration of GT racing.”

Maxime Martin (#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “When you come to Spa
as the previous year’s winner, of course it is something special. A
huge number of cars have the potential to win. The level at this race
increases consistently from year to year so, everything needs to run
smoothly. Like at every 24-hour race, you also need a bit of luck but
I think that we are in a very good position. We have a great team, a
competitive car and the same driver pairing as last year. Bring on the race.”

Alexander Sims (#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “I am really looking
forward to Spa-Francorchamps and of course, we are returning with good
memories of the win last year. However, this is a new year and we now
fully focus on the upcoming weekend. A 24-hour race is always a major
challenge, but the team has already proved what it is capable of once
again at the Nürburgring this year. We have a fantastic team and are
highly motivated.”

Philipp Eng (#99 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “Spa is one of the most
well-known racetracks in the world, and in addition to the Nürburgring
and Zandvoort, is the only one where drivers get an adrenalin rush two
or three times on each lap. We’re returning to Spa with the confidence
of having already won the race once. Naturally, that calms the team a
bit but the race will be extremely difficult once again, with around
60 cars at the same level; that was evident in the pre-test. The
others didn’t hibernate over winter, but we also did our homework and
sorted out a lot of things, which is why I am cautiously optimistic.
Last year we did not make a single mistake despite the extremely
tricky conditions, which was the key to success. In doing so we raised
the bar a little bit for everyone involved.”

Bruno Spengler (#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “There is a lot of
anticipation ahead of Spa-Francorchamps. It is a very difficult race;
the level is high and there are a lot of cars on the track. A good
result, or even the win would be a dream. However, the races so far
have shown that our rivals are very strong. Naturally, it is
impossible to predict how things will turn out at Spa. We definitely
want to be up there at the front.”

Tom Blomqvist (#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “I’m already a little
bit excited; it will be my first outing at Spa-Francorchamps. I’ve
already gained some experience of 24-hour races at the
Nürburgring-Nordschleife, but the two tracks are very different. We
have a great team. Bruno and Nick have a lot of experience. We are in
a good position and will give it our all.”

Nick Catsburg (#98 BMW M6 GT3, ROWE Racing): “I love
Spa-Francorchamps, the event is fantastic. It’s great to be taking on
this race alongside Bruno and Tom. They are terrific drivers and I am
confident that we can get a good result together. It would be great if
we could celebrate the third win in a row for BMW Motorsport at the 24
Hours of Spa.”

Markus Palttala (#35 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport):
“Together with Nürburgring, Spa is always the highlight of
the year for me. It’s the biggest GT3 race of all and it’s my home
race as I live in Belgium. In addition, it’s held on a great track. So
it offers everything a GT driver can dream of and I’m looking forward
to it a lot. It’s fantastic to race close to home and on one of the
most beautiful tracks in the world. I think that with Walkenhorst we
have one of the strongest packages in the Pro-Am class and our clear
target is to claim a podium finish or even the win in this class.”

Nico Menzel (#35 BMW M6 GT3, Walkenhorst Motorsport):
“Spa-Francorchamps is no doubt one of the most difficult
24-hour races. More than 60 GT3 cars will compete, which can all drive
at more or less the same level throughout the classes. This level of
performance is a trademark of this race. So, the goal is to do a good
job and not make any mistakes. There isn’t much to say about the track
itself – it is simply sensational.”

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CO2 emission information.

The fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and operating range figures were determined according to the prescribed test procedure in the version applicable at the time of type approval (Regulation No 715/2007). The figures refer to a vehicle with basic configuration in Germany and considers the different sizes of the selected wheels/tyres.

Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the following guideline: “Leitfaden über Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer Personenkraftwagen” (Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be obtained from all dealerships, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH (DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at http://www.dat.de.

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Related Video Content.

The fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and operating range figures were determined according to the prescribed test procedure in the version applicable at the time of type approval (Regulation No 715/2007). The figures refer to a vehicle with basic configuration in Germany and considers the different sizes of the selected wheels/tyres.

Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the following guideline: “Leitfaden über Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer Personenkraftwagen” (Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be obtained from all dealerships, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH (DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at http://www.dat.de.